Kinkakuji (The Golden Pavilion)

My rating: 7.6/10

Japan's Golden Pavillion. Have you heard of it? Seen it on TV or perhaps a travel agency's advertisements? Well, the world certainly has. The price of being a world-renowned tourist destination are the massive crowds that flock to them. After all this time I still can't find a reason why having hundreds (or thousands) of other people in your way is a good thing when you're traveling. Unless, of course, you like taking pictures of crowds. Then, you're in luck.

A relatively small crowd for Kinkakuji. We visited the temple on a weekday morning off season.

Like all the destinations I'll talk about on the blog, the season and time of day you visit these places strongly impact the experience (and of course my rating). I'm sure if you were able to sit on the shore of the pond, undisturbed, and watch the sunrise beam softly off of the golden pavilion on a cool spring morning, you'd walk out a changed man. The reality is that that's just not possible. If you come to Kinkakuji, expect a massive crowd at nearly any time of the year.

Anyways, Kinkakuji doesn't have much to the temple other than the golden pavilion. However, there is a place that invites everyone to their own gold into a little bowl shortly down the trail!

Just before we exited we saw these pretty flowers. Snapped a quick photo!

All in all Kinkakuji is a place worth visiting, but I wouldn't put it on the must-sees. Check it out, though, if you're in the neighborhood.